dato

[ dah-toh; Spanish dah-taw ]

noun

, plural da·tos [dah, -tohz, dah, -taws].

1. datu.
2. the headman of a barrio or of a Malay tribe.

dato

/ ˈdɑːtəʊ /

noun

1. the chief of any of certain Muslim tribes in the Philippine Islands

Word History and Origins

Origin of dato¹

First recorded in 1610–20 as Datoe; partly from Malay datu, datto “ruler, chief,” and its variant datok, datuk “grandfather, elder,” partly from Indonesian datuk “head of the family, chieftain”; akin to datu ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of dato¹

C19: from Spanish, ultimately from Malay dato' grandfather

Example Sentences

"We have cases of children who became orphans, such as a 12-year-old Afghan boy who lost his entire family, a family of nine people, including four siblings, parents and other close relatives," said Sergio Di Dato, from the charity.

From BBC

"We have cases of children who became orphans, such as a 12-year-old Afghan boy who lost his entire family, a family of nine people, including four siblings, parents and other close relatives," said Sergio Di Dato, from MSF.

From Reuters

Bala is an appellate attorney who works for Justice William Dato of California’s 4th District Court of Appeal.

From Los Angeles Times

Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak - to give him his full title which denotes the high status he holds in Malaysian society - had challenged the judiciary for two years since his conviction and 12-year prison sentence over money laundering and abuses of power charges.

From BBC

Their ruler, the dato, was very polite.

From Literature